Broken Seal
by Koiji
Summary: Naruto's seal is broken by a nightmare, and once he wakes up, he kidnaps his love...Sakura! A team is gathered to find and stop Naruto - or is that, Kyuubi - and to rescue Sakura. But, will they find Naruto in time to save both himself and Sakura?


Broken Seal  
By: Koiji

Summary: Naruto's seal is broken by a nightmare, and once he wakes up, he kidnaps his love...Sakura! A team is gathered to find and stop Naruto - or is that, Kyuubi - and to rescue Sakura. But, will they find Naruto in time to save both himself and Sakura?

* * *

_Naruto..._

Naruto tossed and turned in his bed. He wasn't having a good dream. In fact, he was having something far worse than any old bad dream. He was having a nightmare. One filled with a voice...

_Uzumaki Naruto...they've hated and feared you all along, haven't you noticed? _

That nightmarish voice...it could only belong to the Youma called the Kyuubi, Nine-Tails. The demon with Nine-Tails, whom with one lash with its tail caused earthquakes, and more. And it was the demon inside Naruto, sealed within for...hopefully...the rest of the Uzumaki boy's life.

_They never liked you. They still hate you. They're only nice out of fear. _

Naruto shook his head, trying to escape the demon's horrible voice and words. "It's not true, not true..." He mumbled in his sleep, trying his hardest to fight the demon's unholy words. But, most of all, its nightmarish voice. The Youma's voice was booming, and echoing, and filled with a deep malice. It was a voice that could only be heard in nightmares, and in the thoughts of the darkest minds.

_Oh, it's true, alright... It's all true. Even your pathetic Iruka-Sensei hates you. _

"Not true..." Naruto mumbled once more.

_You have no friends to call your own. Do you? No, you do not. Just take that Uchiha Sasuke boy for example...he hates you, doesn't he? If he was your friend, he would've returned to the village with you, wouldn't he have? _

Naruto's mumbling stopped for a moment, as if he was trying to process that thought in his nightmare-filled state.

_That's right. He's not your friend. No one is. You have no friends. Not even Jiraiya, or the Hokage...not even Kakashi...not Shikamaru, not Chouji, not Neji, not Kiba, not Lee... _

The listing of names went on, causing Naruto to further his efforts to escape the nightmare by tossing and turning in his bed, and repeatedly refusing the Youma'swords with words of his own. Sweat began to pour from his forehead, as his body heated up more and more. He felt as if he was on fire. He felt as if he was inside the flames of the Kyuubi, his skin burning and peeling off. His body's efforts to cool off hightened to the point of Naruto drooling and crying.

_Not even your little goddess, Sakura. No one does! _

Those words sent Naruto over the edge. His teeth grew large, so large that Naruto had to open his mouth wide, as if he was yawning. His canine teeth sharpened and grew in length and size, turning into fangs. His nails and hands elongated slightly, forming into sharp claws. His whiskers thickened, and the Kyuubi's red, demonic chakra began to swirl all over Naruto's body.

_Show them all. Show her. Show them all what pain you've felt through the ears. Let me have control... I'll do it all for you. All for the sake of your happiness, Naruto. _

Naruto's eyes shot open. They now were a deep, crimson red instead of their natural blue color, as if the tears had washed away that color. He roared throatily, ending it all with a deep chuckle. It was almost done in a triumphant matter, really.  
The seal binding the Kyuubi completely within Naruto...  
...Was broken.

* * *

"Hey, did you hear what happened last night?"  
"Yeah, that Naruto kid turned into a demon!"  
"...He always was a demon. Never was human, I tell you."  
"The demon, then, kidnapped this girl. A Harono Sakaru or something."  
"Nah, her name was Haruno Sakura."  
"Oh, yeah..." 

Conversations such as those went about the town, the news of the kidnap of Haruno Sakura spreading like wildfire. Not to mention news that the demon was back. Naruto was gone, and there was no Kyuubi in his place. Not only news like that, but rude rumors and insults towards Naruto. Nara Shikamaru was many who heard the news, and gathered the facts together before he reported it all to Tsunade, with a request of his own...

"Tsunade-sama, I want to gather a team together for the rescue mission of Haruno Sakura, and possibly even Uzumaki Naruto."

"Are you sure? It was only months ago that you started that mission to rescue that Sasuke boy. And that mission was certainly a crazy one. Are you really sure about this, Shikamaru?"

"Yes, ma'am." Shikamaru kept his jaw set, trying his best to look as serious as possible.

"Will you take your fellow Chuunins along on this mission, instead of Gennin?" Tsunade was a little hesitant on this whole thing. If the rumors about Naruto being a demon were true, then mere Gennin wouldn't be enough to stop Naruto. To stop a Youma, it takes hundreds of Jounin.

"No, Gennin."

"Are you insane!" Tsunade yelled at Shikamaru. "Youmas can't be taken down by mere Gennin, even with the help of a Chuunin leading them! Even a Chuunin as smart as you, Shikamaru." She rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

Shikamaru sighed. He knew this would most likely happen. "Tsunade-sama, if Naruto is indeed in that demon...somewhere...only we could possibly bring him back. Only his friends could possibly think of doing such a thing." He kept his serious face from showing fear. He was a little fearful of Naruto's demonic self, deep down. He never saw Naruto in Kyuubi form, so all his knowledge were gained from simple talking and rumors. And let's just say that most of those rumors were cold and harsh towards Naruto.

"And if Naruto isn't in that demon?"

"...We're all dead." Shikamaru did his best to not show fear, although he was definately feeling completely fearful. His mind began to wander to the thought of Naruto- no, the demon -killing him. "We have to rest on the odds of Naruto still being in that demon somewhere, and that Haruno Sakura is still alive. Both can be rescued...only it'll most likely be harder to rescue one of them, we still have to think of the odds that they are both alive."

"Fine, then." Tsunade said, after a long moment of hesitation. She had caught a glimpse of the immense fear that Shikamaru really was feeling. She quickly wrote down the mission specifications down on a paper, and with a sigh, she continued. "Mission approved, Shikamaru, but be weary that if Naruto isn't returned to Konoha in time, then we shall send in a team of Jounin to take him down."

"Understood, Tsunade-Sama."

* * *

Shikamaru sighed, sitting down on a bench, shaded pleasantly by a tree. A breeze went by, carrying a green leaf into Shikamaru's lap. Again, the Chuunin sighed, as he rubbed his temples. "Damn it, Naruto... You're one troublesome guy." It would take a lot to convince the others to go on another mission like this one. Especially one with such a high risk of dying. 

"Perhaps... This time I'll bring others, aswell. With a higher risk of dying, there has to be more people, right?" Shikamaru thought out loud to himself. "And besides...more people will most likely refuse going altogether." He sighed. "Shame this time it'll be near impossible to get those Sand siblings along. They were a big help last time." He laughed at the irony of it all. If not for Temari, he surely would've been dead. Without Gaara, Rock Lee would have died, and without Kankurou, Kiba would have died. They all basically owed their lives to the Sand Siblings, one way or another. Well, maybe not all of them, but Shikamaru sure did.

"Hey, Shikamaru, what's so funny?" The voice filled with slight arrogance, and obvious tease could only belong to Kiba, dogboy of the Inuzuka clan. "You looked at yourself in the mirror, and you had to laugh 'cause you're so funny lookin'?"

Shikamaru glared at Kiba through slitted eyes. "No, just something ironic." Would Kiba be of use? ...It was worth a try. "You've heard of what has happened to Naruto, right?"

Kiba snorted. "Of course, I have. Who hasn't?" He crossed his arms, and began to rock on his heels. "Now everyone sees him as I always have. He's a demon. A demon!" He stuck out his tongue at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru sighed. "So...I guess asking you to help rescue him and Sakura is a bad idea, right?"

"Right-o." Kiba chuckled to himself. "But...I'll go and watch you gather all those doomed to die on this mission." He crossed his arms behind his head, as Shikamaru stood up to leave.

"Don't forget the popcorn." Shikamaru furrowed his 'brow in annoyance, and then walked off, Kiba trailing behind him, laughing all the while.

* * *

A/N: Whew...that took a while. I really had fun writing this chapter. Please review, again, keep me in high spirits. Don't flame, though, just leave helpful criticism... I really do, honestly,need it. 


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